Stray
by pdshalstud
Summary: She was malnourished, injured and in desperate need of help when she wandered onto a military base. Eventually she brings together Army Nurse Erin Lindsay and Ranger Jay Halstead, at a time when they need each other the most...Lmao, I still suck at summaries. Rated M for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: As always huge thank you to queseraone for putting up with me, reading through and editing every random fic I come up with! **

**This was only going to be a one-shot but is now going to be a couple chapters, unless it flops then it will probably just be this chapter. ****I'm not entirely sure where this idea came from but I like it and I hope you do too. **

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They're driving through the vast desert, a line of green Humvees carrying the 75th Battalion Army Rangers back to their base. Then all of a sudden – with no warning at all – the three large trucks get blown off the ground and flipped over as if they weigh nothing at all.

The next thing Jay remembers is waking up on his side. His ears are ringing and his eyes are clenched shut as he slowly begins to move. He groans as he feels every part of his body ache. When he's ready to look around, his eyelashes blink in quick succession in order to rid his eyes of some of the sand. He moves to crawl out of the vehicle – the glass shards from the windshield slicing into his skin as he practically drags himself out of the window closest to him.

He's temporarily blinded by the sun as he looks around for his friends – the men that have become his family over the last few years.

His chest begins to constrict and the pain in his arm intensifies as he uses the upside down Humvee to pull himself up.

The first thing his eyes land on is the Humvee off to the side of the one he's currently leaning on. The once green vehicle is now a black pile of mangled metal as dark orange flames roar from the windows. His hands stay on the Humvee for support as he moves over to the wreck – wanting to check to see if there's any survivors. He's almost to one of his team members when there's another explosion and his already aching body is thrown back a few feet.

The ringing in his ears returns before everything goes black again.

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It's eerily quiet when he comes to again. The dark green tent above him is the first thing he sees and his eyes stay fixed on the same spot for a few minutes before he finally looks around. He sees other men – some his brothers laying on the cots surrounding him. They're all motionless, some with white bandages covering a vast majority of their bodies and he chooses to focus on them for a while – dreading the moment he looks towards the back of the tent.

He counts them first and then repeats the number in his head. Five body bags. Five men that won't make it home to their families. Five families that will forever be changed. He wasn't a very religious man before he came here, even when his mom tried her best to bring him and his younger brother up to believe in the same higher power she did.

But the first time he saw one of his friends bleed out in his arms, he prayed. And still, every time one of his own doesn't make it home, he prays for their families – prays that they can make it through their loss.

He's so distracted by the black bags concealing those men – his brothers in arms – that he doesn't notice the small furry bundle nestled next to him on his cot. He blinks back the tears in his eyes as he observes the warm fluff ball cuddled in between his arm and side.

He moves his right arm – the arm not wrapped up and strapped to his torso – and clears his throat as he bends his arm to pet the back of the puppy and bring him out of his slumber. "Hey buddy." His voice is weak as he talks to the little dog.

He finds himself thinking that the puppy looks like a baby version of the Belgian Malinois that the military uses as working dogs. And with its black tipped fur that is a reddish color closer to the roots, he wonders if maybe somehow he is the offspring of one of those dogs. He's so lost in his thoughts of the puppy that he doesn't notice someone approach him until she says something.

"Is he yours?" He asks – completely missing her question. She shrugs and he gives her a confused look – silently asking her how she doesn't know.

"Technically no, _she's_ a stray but I have been feeding her and taking care of her injuries." Her eyes are casted down towards the dog as he looks up at her again. She repeats her previous question and he answers, his eyes not leaving the side of her face as she writes down his response. She continues to ask him questions about how he's feeling and make notes before she informs him of what they believe happened and what the extent of his injuries are. She tells him how lucky he is as her eyes fall on the same place he was looking just minutes before.

It's almost as if the puppy senses the mood shift and hops up onto Jay's chest. That's when he notices that she only uses three of her legs. She crawls over to the nurse standing next to them first. Wagging her tail as her caregiver reaches down to pet her and she kisses her hand before turning to move closer to Jay's face. She kisses the thick stubble along his jaw and he lets out gruff chuckle that causes the puppy to fall off the cot but she's caught by the nurse.

"Alright Luna, let's let him get some rest." The puppy responds by kissing her cheek.

"Luna?" His eyebrows furrowed a little and she shrugs once again before nodding.

She lets him know that she'll be back later to check on him before turning around and leaving the tent.

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The following days are long – longer than they usually are out here – and it's quieter too, the loss of some of their men looming over all of their heads. There wasn't really an escape from the nightmare they're living. But then there was Erin – as he later learns is her name. Her dark blonde hair, hazel eyes and irresistible dimples fill him with a new excitement he hasn't felt in months – in _years _even. And he looks forward to seeing her, to getting to closer to her every morning. Their connection starts with Luna and Chicago and builds from there. And they quickly get to know so much about each other during the few weeks he's in the infirmary.

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Once he's given the all clear to resume his normal duties, he stops seeing her. Not in passing or during meal time or briefing. And his sleep – or lack-there-of – returns to normal, the dreams he'd have of her simply fading away, quickly replaced with his usual inescapable nightmares.

But then one night out of the blue, Luna crawls onto his cot with him. And it seems as though his nightmares disappear, just like they did on the days he spent talking to Erin. At first he thinks it's just a coincidence that the nights Luna sleeps next to him are the nights he's actually able to sleep. But after it happens again and then again, he realizes that it's no coincidence. Both Erin and the shy little puppy have similar but also very different calming effects on him.

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He finally sees Erin a couple days later and he goes to sit with her and their friend Mouse as they eat their breakfast. Both of them ask the other where Luna is, but the fact that neither of them knows causes their stomachs to twist, thinking of the worst as they attempt to finish the rest of their food. After a few minutes of silence, they begin to talk about their favorite things back home – taking their minds away from Luna. They don't know how long they're talking but almost everyone has finished and left the tent by the time they peel their eyes away from each other.

Somehow the topic of Luna gets brought up again, and Erin looks down – but not before he sees the tears that form in her eyes. He reaches across the table and covers one of her hands with his, giving it a gentle squeeze. She looks at their hands before meeting his eyes again. Without words, he tells her that it's going to be ok, but when she looks back down he can tell she doesn't believe him.

Just then someone comes rushing in, telling them that Luna is outside.

They give each other one more worried glance before they run outside and see Mouse squatting in front of Luna. Erin's eyebrows knit together as she looks at the puppy lying on the ground in front of her; she kneels down and cups the underside of the puppy's face as she pants and whines.

Jay approaches the pair quickly and runs his hand over the clearly distressed and exhausted puppy. "What's wrong with her?"

Her voice cracks a little with her guess and as she asks for a canteen. She begins to slowly pour water over the young puppy's mouth before she scoops up the limp puppy and carries her inside one of the tents.

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**I hope everyone has a great weekend and Happy Holidays - to those who celebrate of course. **


	2. Chapter 2

It doesn't take long for the puppy to perk up a little and it causes both of them to let out a sigh of relief. Jay continues to give her small amounts of water here and there while she sits up in Erin's lap.

"I don't even want to know what's going to happen to her when we go home next week." Her voice is low and broken as she gently pulls the puppy closer to her chest.

He only nods, not quite sure what to say to make her feel better. He doesn't know if or how they would be able to get her back to the states but he knows there has to be a way. He's gotten attached to her – to both of them – and he wants to help.

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A tear rolls down her cheek as she places a kiss on the forehead of the puppy she's cared for for the last month and a half. She's never had a pet – never had the privilege – or any luxury in her life for that matter. But she knows now exactly how much she could have benefited from a pet while she was younger. How nice it would have been to have a companion – someone in her corner.

Jay had brought up how he was trying to get in touch with a guy he knows, someone whose wife volunteers for a rescue who occasionally brings dogs back to the states. When he mentioned it to Erin, he could see the excitement in her eyes but then it disappeared. She's been let down a lot in her life – at least that's what he got from some of the things she has told him in the last couple weeks. He can see now that she doesn't want to get her hopes up – she doesn't want to be disappointed if things don't work out.

He gets her to look up at him and he promises that Luna will be home soon enough. The disbelief and hurt is evident in her expression as she cuddles the puppy once more before they have to leave. He leans down and pets Luna's head a couple times before making the same promise to her – a promise he doesn't intend to break.

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Jay's seat is in between Erin and Mouse during their final flight – the flight from New York to Chicago.

Jay can immediately tell that she's not comfortable flying as her hands tightly grip the arm rests and her eyes are closed as they begin to take off. "I hate flying." Her voice is a little shaky.

He raises his eyebrow at her briefly. "I couldn't tell."

She looks over at him, – giving him a sincere pout, and it takes everything in him not to lean over and kiss her worries away, her slightly puckered lips almost becoming too much of a temptation. He decides to start a conversation to distract them from their thoughts. Eventually she falls asleep with her head on his shoulder and he smiles at her before drifting off too.

Mouse chuckles and shakes his head as he puts in his ear buds and listens to his music.

They don't wake up until the captain's voice comes through the speakers informing all of the passengers that they'll be arriving at O'Hare within the next fifteen minutes. Jay rubs his eyes and looks over to see that she's still asleep. He smiles again as he gently shakes her shoulder.

They wait for their luggage together and then head for the exit.

He feels himself get increasingly nervous as they approach the time for them to part ways.

"So I guess maybe I'll see you around." She says after he helps her get her dark green bag into the trunk of the cab.

"I was actually thinking maybe we could grab a drink or dinner sometime." He feels the heat rise in his cheeks even with the cool fall air against his skin. Her dimples pop as she digs into her backpack and pulls out a pen and envelope. "I'd like that." She hands him a piece of the envelope with her number on it. She nods towards Mouse and he nods back.

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They've texted or talked over the phone nearly everyday since they got home and they even hung out a few times, and yet he still feels himself get nervous as he waits for her to answer. Eventually her voicemail comes through and he ends the call, choosing instead to send her a text message before driving to the airport.

When he gets there he goes to the cargo desk and they have him sign some forms before they wheel out a cream plastic pet crate. He sets the pen down on the counter and moves over to the crate. Luna is cowering in the back, her tail thumping against the side once she sees him. He can see that she still doesn't use her rear right leg as she holds it off the bottom of the crate. His voice remains low as he asks if he can let her out and the attendant nods.

Jay has to say her name in order for the frightened puppy to crawl forward and he can see how much she's changed in the last four months. And after he repeats her name once more, she jumps out of the crate and into his lap with so much force that she almost knocks him down. Her tail is wagging faster than before as she whines and kisses his cheek. He pats her side and reaches in his pocket to take out the leash and collar he picked up on his way there.

As they're leaving, he looks at his phone and sees a text message from Erin letting him know that she's on her way to work but she'll call him when she can. He looks down at Luna and nods his head as they exit the airport.

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A few days later they decide to meet at River Park. He gets there at the agreed time and looks around for her but doesn't see her so he sits down on the bench closest to them.

It's obvious there's something wrong when she slowly walks over to them. He knows she sees him but she keeps checking over her shoulder as if she's looking for someone else. When she gets closer he sees that her right eye is puffy and swollen and there's a light bruise on her left cheek.

She whispers an apology and he shakes his head as he asks if she's ok. She doesn't answer as she kneels down to greet the very excited puppy at their feet. She mentions something about how big Luna has gotten and how healthy she looks.

When she stands up a couple minutes later he extends his hand to give her the leash.

But much to his surprise she gently pushes his hand back and looks down at the ground. He's confused, but he takes the opportunity to look at her eye and cheek which seem to become darker with every second. He wonders if her bruises have anything to do with her odd behavior.

"Jay I really appreciate you getting her over here but I-" Her voice is just above a whisper, and when she looks back up at him, he can see tears in her eyes. "I uh….I'm just not in a good place right now and I can't really take care of her."

"Erin-" He was going to offer to help with whatever she's going through but she shakes her head.

"I can pay you for all her expenses but I can't take her. I wish I could but I can't." A tear rolls down her cheek as she keeps her eyes cast down but she's quick to wipe it away.

He fights the urge to pull her into him. "If you're in some kind of trouble, I can-"

She shakes her head before he can even finish his sentence, petting Luna's head one more time as she whispers, "I'm sorry." He's not sure if her apology was meant for him or the dog as she walks away but he can tell how sincere she is.

He sees her hand go up to her face again as Luna barks and whines – trying her hardest to get to Erin. He squats down to console the puppy as he too watches Erin go.

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His calls and messages go unanswered after that.

He decides to send her one last text letting her know he's there for her, but it never gets sent – the sight of his mom laying on the kitchen floor causes him to drop his phone before he finishes typing.

Luna is by her head acting as a pillow as Jay checks for his mom's pulse. He begins to shake ever-so-slightly – feeling chilled to the bone as he reaches for the phone.

He barely manages to dial 9-1-1 as he wills his mom to hold on.


	3. Chapter 3

He's sitting in the corner of the hospital room, his head in his hands as he anxiously waits for news as to why his mother collapsed this morning. He hears someone walk in and his head shoots up, expecting to see the doctor - but it's Erin.

She's wearing a pair of teal scrubs and her hair is up in a high ponytail. Her eyes are fixed on the iPad in her hand so he takes the time to observe the bruises on her face that are barely covered by her makeup.

Her voice breaks him from his thoughts as she walks in further and introduces herself to his mom, telling them that she'll be right outside the room if they need anything before she exits.

Once his mom falls asleep, he goes outside to get some air and call his brother, but just as Jay was expecting Will blows him off, telling him that he'll have to call back before hanging up.

He was just about to throw his phone at the concrete pillar closest to him when the sound of someone yelling stops him. Looking towards the street, he sees Erin get hit in the face and pushed to the ground. Then the guy hops in his car and races out of the parking lot.

He runs over to her as she stands up and moves out of the street. She runs her hand through her hair that was pulled out of the ponytail, as she steps onto the sidewalk.

She jumps when she feels someone touch her arm. She turns to see Jay, her eyes meeting his and she gets lost in his blue-green orbs that have so much emotion held within them, his gaze calming her a little.

"Are you ok?" Jay reaches up and places two fingers under her chin when she looks down. He tilts her face up and sees the tears in her eyes. She nods and wipes the blood from the corner of her lips.

"Let's get you inside." His hand is on the small of her back as he gently guides her towards the entrance.

"I'm going to go talk to my supervisor but I'll catch up with you later." She tells him

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When he gets to his mom's room the doctor walks in and tells them what's going on. Jay has a difficult time trying to wrap his head around what the doctor is saying and he shakes his head in disbelief. "So what's next? How are you going to treat it now?" He asks, even though he doesn't want to hear the answer, pretty sure it's going to be the news he's been dreading for the past two years. He feels like his heart is a grenade with no pin, ready explode at any moment.

His mom is sitting up in the bed but she still looks so tired. He suggests that she rest but she shakes her head, telling him that she'll rest soon enough. His heart sinks at that realization – it aches at that word. _Soon_. She apologizes againas he looks down at the floor.

After a couple minutes she asks about Erin and how he knows her. The change in subject is welcome distraction as he begins talking about the hazel eyed beauty. A warm smile comes to her face as she listens to her son speak so fondly of the nurse.

"Is she ok? That hit looked pretty hard." When Jay gives her a confused look, she nods towards the window.

Jay shrugs his shoulders. "She said she was…" He was going say something else and his mom knows it because she raises her eyebrow at him. But just as he was about to continue, a different nurse comes in and introduces herself, letting them know that she'll be covering for Erin for the rest of the day. His mom looks from the young blonde in the doorway and back at him. She doesn't have to say anything for him to get up. He gives his mom a kiss on the head before going to look for Erin.

When he gets outside it only takes a few seconds for him to spot her. She's sitting at the bus stop. He makes his way over to her quickly but his last few steps are slow and cautious, giving her time to notice his presence. He greets her with a simple, "Hey." When he asks her again if she's ok, she shakes her head. He decides to sit next to her on the cold metal of the black bench.

A few minutes of silence pass before she looks past him with tears welling in her eyes. "Sometimes I dream that I switched places with one of them." She sniffles and he tries to decipher who exactly she's talking about. Instead of asking, he just places his hand on her knee and waits for her to continue. "I dream that they come home to their families. They hug their kids and kiss their spouses. And when I wake up I wonder why someone like me – someone who doesn't have a family – was one of the people that didn't make it back."

"No one deserves that Erin. Just because you don't feel like you have a family doesn't mean that it should have been you that didn't make it back. And it doesn't mean that you won't have a family one day. That you don't have someone in your corner or that you wouldn't have been missed." He moves his hand from her knee to cover her hands as they sit in her lap. Her eyes meet his again and she nods.

"Do you need a ride somewhere?" It's an innocent question but she still takes time to mull it over as she looks down.

She nods. "I'm going to stay at my friend's, but she doesn't get off of work for another couple hours." She stands from the bench as the bus pulls up to stop.

"Wait Erin," he says just as she was about to step onto the bus. "I was just about to go hang out with Luna for a little bit. I can take you to your friend's place on my way back here if you want."

She tucks her hair behind her ear and nods shyly.

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They pull up to a quaint little gated community shortly after leaving the hospital. Jay shows the guard a pass and introduces the heavy set guy to Erin. She nods her head in greeting before they continue to drive.

After parking the truck in the driveway of a large tan house, he looks over at her and she gives him a tight lipped smile.

When they walk through the door, she instantly feels herself relax. Pictures adorn the walls in every direction and little knickknacks are placed tastefully on each of the tables. Jay's voice pulls her attention away from the decor briefly before he runs up the stairs.

Less than a minute later, Luna comes running down so quickly Erin thinks she might fall. The puppy greets her the same way she did at the park a few weeks ago, her tail thumping against the leg of the table to the left of them as she whines.

"She's never that excited to see me." Jay smiles at the interaction and it earns him a smirk from Erin. His phone rings and he excuses himself as he moves into the other room to answer it.

She goes to let Luna outside for a few minutes but instead of going to the bathroom she brings Erin a pink tennis ball. Erin throws it a few times, glancing back inside every so often to see Jay pacing before going into another room out of sight.

Erin is just about to toss the ball across the yard again when Luna goes to scratch at the door and then there's one loud crash followed by another.

"Jay!" Erin's usually raspy voice comes out a little more high-pitched and practically echoes through the large house as she rushes inside. She waits for an answer but she's met with silence as she goes towards where she saw him last. She repeats his name just before she finds him on the floor of the kitchen. Two of the cabinet doors are broken, and the glass is shattered all over the counter beneath them. The room is dimly lit with the only light coming from the window above the sink, but she can still see the blood on his hand as he pets Luna.

He's just staring at the island in front of him. Even when Luna lays down by him, his gaze is set on the same spot for a minute before shifting to the dark brown and black fur of the dog next to him. He hears his name again but this time her voice is much closer and the worry is more evident, calming the storm within him.

She kneels in front of him, taking his hand in hers to assess the cuts. Luckily they aren't deep enough for stitches. "He doesn't care." His voice is cold as he pulls his hand back. "They said there's nothing that can be done. She's dying and there's nothing that they can do for her. And my selfish brother cares about partying more than he cares about the fact that our mother is dying." His eyes are rimmed red as he looks at her and it's as if everything he's feeling is portrayed through his blue-green orbs.

She moves to sit next to him and he leans his head on her shoulder. Her hand comes up to cup his jaw as she kisses the crown of his head. She's not sure how long they sit there before he goes to get the first aid kit so she can dress his cuts.

He watches as she gently tends to his wounds. A smile comes to his face as her lips pucker and her eyebrows knit together in concentration.

After she finishes wrapping his hand and wrist, she goes to put the first aid kit away and she comes back to find Jay opening two beers. He hands one to her as she comes to stand next to him.

As they start to clean up the glass, he tells her a story about the time he broke the kitchen window while he was practicing soccer. "My mom didn't yell or get mad at all. She just asked me to show her the new trick I was trying. Then she cleaned up the glass and took the heat from my dad."

"She sounds like an amazing mom."

He nods and gives her a sad smile, and that's when he notices the blood on her shirt. "I'll go get you a new shirt." He gestures towards her stomach and she looks down to see the red spots all over the lower half of her scrub top. She pulls the shirt off, leaving her in the white camisole as she walks to the sink to start rinsing the shirt in hopes that it'll come out. She's so focused on the teal material in her hand that she doesn't realize that he returned. The sound of the running water masks his gasp as he sees the bruises practically covering her back and upper arms.

His legs move of their own volition as they carry him over to her. His hand reaches around her and lays flat on her toned abdomen. He vaguely registers the muscles in her stomach tense briefly but she makes no attempt to move out of his embrace as he slowly pulls her back. His eyes take a closer look at the dark splotches marring her ivory skin. And before he can talk himself out of it he's leaning down to place a feather light kiss to the bruise on her right shoulder blade, just to the side of her bra strap, his lips lingering for just a few seconds.

She slowly turns in his arms, his hand moving to the small of her back. Their eyes search for any sign of reluctance as they both lean in and their lips meet in the middle. The kiss is slow and deliberate, one meant to comfort before it deepens and starts to overflow with passion. She teases the hem of his shirt before pulling it over his head, her hands mapping out every inch of his skin and gently tracing each scar she comes across.

When her phone rings, he pulls away from her lips and shuts off the water. Her eyebrows furrow as she brings the phone up to her ear.

"That was my friend. She umm….her shift ended early." She tells him after the call ends.

He looks down at their hands still clasped together and nods as he leans down to peck her lips a few more times. "Do you think your friend will mind if Luna stays with you guys?" He asks, and she looks at him, confused. "I just don't know how long my mom will be in the hospital and I don't really want an eight-month-old puppy to have to sit in a crate most of the time."

"I ummm…..I'll ask." She looks down at her phone and presses down twice before bringing it back up to her ear.

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He walks with her up to the apartment, the large wire crate folded and held in his left hand while his right hand holds the bag of dog food.

She knocks on the door of the apartment across from the elevator and they wait for a moment before a young brunette woman opens the door. Erin introduces Jay to Nadia and then she leads them to the bedroom at the end of hall.

He sets up the crate while Erin takes some of Luna's things to the kitchen. When she gets back, the crate is up and the red dog bed is inside.

He starts mumbling about Luna's schedule as they walk back down the hall and his hand goes to scratch the side of his neck.

She chuckles softly as he reaches for the door handle. "She'll be fine. But if I have questions I'll text you." He blushes as she stands on the tips of her toes to place a kiss to his lips. "If you need anything I'm here for you Jay."

He nods and gives her one more kiss before he leaves.

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A/N: Sorry to leave this unfinished but I'm going to be taking a little break - at least for now. Thanks to those of you who have followed/favorited and reviewed!


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